Collection Guide
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Ikemi Family Photographs
SPC .2021.035
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Contributing Institution:
California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections
Title: Ikemi Family Photographs
Creator:
Ikemi
Identifier/Call Number: SPC .2021.035
Physical Description:
33.5 Megabytes
101 jpeg files
Date (inclusive): circa 1900, 1937-March 1950
Date (bulk): 1944 - 1947
Abstract: This collection includes seventy digitized photographs documenting the life of the Ikemi family before, during, and after
World War II. Images in the collection include photographs of friends and family of the Ikemi family, including June and Julie
Sugimoto, and incarcerated Japanese Americans at the Poston Incarceration Camp.
Language of Material:
English
.
For information about citing archival material, see the
Citations for Archival Material guide, or consult the appropriate style manual.
There are no access restrictions on this collection.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Douglas Ikemi donated the digitized photographs during a Scanning Day event in 2018. The original material was returned to
the donor.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the
Director of the Gerth Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf
of the Gerth Archives and Special Collections as the owner of the physical materials and not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Existence and Location of Originals
This collection contains digital reproductions created from loaned material. The donor retained the original items.
This collection is part of the California State University Japanese American Digitization Project. For more information:
CSU Japanese American Digitization Project.
Processing Information for Digitized Material
The Gerth Archives and Special Collections created digital reproductions from the original material for long-term preservation
and access. These preservation files (1.3 GB, 101 tif files) were scanned to and stored on the Gerth Archives and Special
Collections Deparment Drive. For more information on the best practices and standards for the digitization process, please
see:
CSUJAD Techincal Reference Guide.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
The digitized photographs are available on the Public Use Drive as JPG files at the Gerth Archives And Special Collections.
Please request copies at the reference desk.
The Ikemi Family Photographs collection (circa 1900, 1937-March 1950; undated) contains 101 tiff files and 1.3 gb of digitized
material belonging to the Ikemi Family. The majority of the collection contains photographs of Kozo Ikemi and May Ikemi before
World War II, during and after their time at the Poston Incarceration Camp. The collection contains several photos taken within
the Poston Incarceration Camp featuring many incarcerated Japanese Americans and camp barracks, such as May Ikemi's camp barrack.
The collection also contains photographs of June and Julie Sugimoto in Poston, Arizona, and Peoria, Illinois. Lastly, the
collection contains photographs of friends and family in multiple cities throughout the United States.
May Ikemi was born May Matsubara on April 5, 1925, in Rosamond, California, to Shojiro and Kiri Matsubara. May had three siblings:
Shoji Matsubara, Shiyoichi Matsubara, and Rose Matsubara. Her mother and father, born in Japan, immigrated to the United States
on the S.S. Ecuador and arrived in San Francisco on January 10, 1917. Her father was a farmer, and her mother was a housewife.
Her father, Shojiro, passed away on September 20, 1940, prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor and U.S. involvement in World
War II. During World War II, May and her family were forceably removed to the Poston Incarceration Camp in Southwestern Arizona
and arrived at the incarceration camp on May 25, 1942. May finished high school in 1943 and received her diploma from the
Bureau of Indian Affairs. On May 24, 1944, May was released from the incarceration camp and moved to Peoria, Illinois, to
work with friends, June and Julie Sugimoto, who were also in the Poston Incarceration Camp. May Ikemi, June, and Julie Sugimoto
worked for the Burchette family, who owned several photo studios in Peoria, Illinois. May spent time in Chicago, Illinois,
with her mother and sister, and after a period of time, she returned to California, where she met her husband Kozo Ikemi.
Kozo Ikemi was born on June 29, 1919, to Eizaburo Ikemi and Sen Ikemi, both born in Japan. Eizaburo Ikemi immigrated to the
United States on March 31, 1905, on the S.S. Manchuria at the port of Honolulu. His mother, Sen Ikemi, immigrated to the United
States on March 4, 1910, on the S.S. Chicago Maru. Like May Ikemi, Kozo Ikemi came from a farming family and lived in California's
San Diego County. His mother, Sen Ikemi, passed away on August 19, 1940, two years prior to the Ikemi family's forceably removed
to the Poston Incarceration camp. Kozo Ikemi arrived at the incarceration camp on May 15, 1942, and was released on October
19, 1945. After the war, Kozo Ikemi moved to Los Angeles, California, where he met May Matsubara. Kozo and May Ikemi married
on November 22, 1950, and had three children. Kozo Ikemi passed away on January 3, 2004, and his wife, May Ikemi, passed away
on June 21, 2008.
Sources:
http://www.ikemi.info/kozoikemi/kozo1.pdf
http://www.ikemi.info/mayikemi/MayHistory.pdf
https://www.postonpreservation.org
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Japanese Americans
Japanese Americans -- Forced removal and internment, 1942-1945
World War, 1939-1945 -- Japanese Americans
Poston Incarceration Camp
- Collection Overview
-
Collection Details
- Preferred Citation
- Conditions Governing Access
- Immediate Source of Acquisition
- Conditions Governing Use
- Existence and Location of Originals
- Related Materials
- Processing Information for Digitized Material
- Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
- Scope and Contents
- Biographical / Historical